Seniors Cody Stockstill and Kelly Shows will present the fruits of their years in the performing arts department at Millsaps through their senior directing projects on the weekend of October 5-7. Performances will be Friday and Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
“‘The Bacchae’ is just as vital in today’s society as it was in the ancient world,” says Stockstill. “At the center is the question of the rational in competition with the irrationality of human nature and religion.” Written at the close of Euripides’ life, “The Bacchae” is the great Greek dramatist’s final masterpiece. At the center of the play is the confrontation between human arrogance and the primal forces of nature, between logic and irrationality. Its shattering climax forces the audience to ponder the psychology of mass violence, the virtues of moderation over pure reason, and our ideas of the divine.
Shows takes a different approach in her selection. “I picked this play simply because a lot of people see plays and always see happy endings,” she says. “Now they have a chance to see things from another perspective.” Shows looks forward to showing the audience both good and bad sides of relationships in “Hold Me!” She hopes they see a bit of themselves in the characters onstage. A long-run Off-Broadway success, “Hold Me!” is an incisive and joyously funny revue by America’s noted humorist and social satirist Jules Feiffer. The show probes into the doubtful joys and small terrors of urban living. “This is a fun and exciting show, and there is never a dull moment,” Shows adds. “By the end of the show, everyone will be saying “hold me!”
General admission is $10, and admission for students and seniors is $8. Tickets are available at the box office one hour prior to each performance, which will be held in the Christian Center Auditorium. For more information, contact the performing arts office at 601-974-1422.
